Is digital friction harming your organization?

Digital friction — the effort employees expend navigating technology systems — represents a significant challenge in modern organizations. Research indicates that non-compliance with security is almost always because employees found the security tasks created too much friction.

What Constitutes Friction?

Friction encompasses multiple workplace frustrations: searching for files, troubleshooting applications, managing software updates, and remembering numerous passwords. Poorly documented or difficult-to-locate procedures compound these challenges.

The Cost of Multiple Login Systems

A concrete example demonstrates the magnitude: if each of 10,000 employees requires 30 seconds per login across 15 systems, organizations waste approximately 750 hours daily. Single-sign-on solutions can immediately recover this productivity loss despite implementation costs.

Security and Compliance Connection

Studies consistently reveal that employees feel that many security related tasks get in their way when they are trying to complete their main production tasks. Password complexity requirements, cumbersome workflows, and sign-in overload exemplify well-intentioned security measures that backfire. When processes feel unnecessarily burdensome, employees circumvent controls entirely.

The Path Forward

Organizations should conduct cultural baseline measurements examining employee-technology interactions. This approach identifies risk areas while revealing how technology can better serve employees and simplify workflows. Security implementations should support productivity rather than hinder it.

Departments that reduce friction while improving security and productivity gain significant internal credibility and business value.